Hic Suebiae finis? Ein mittelkaiserzeitliches Gräberfeld mit „Fürstengrab“ von Kariv-1 aus der Westukraine

Abstract

In spring 2017, the Museum of History and Local History at Vynnyky, near Ľviv (Lemberg), Western Ukraine, was informed of the discovery of several metal objects in the vicinity of the village of Kariv, Ľviv Region, site 1, Western Ukraine, close to the Polish border. The nature of the finds suggested that this must be the site of a hitherto unknown Imperial-period cemetery with weapons burials dating from the second half of the 2^nd century and possibly connected with the Przeworsk Culture.
To investigate further, an excavation was carried out under the direction of Jaroslav Onyščuk (Ivan Franko University, Ľviv) in summer 2017, a few months after the finds were reported. No sooner had investigations begun than two highly remarkable burials (Grave 1 and Grave 2) were uncovered. They dated from the late 2^nd century AD and had been only slightly disturbed by ploughing. Because of their extraordinary importance for Imperialperiod archaeology, their inventories are described here in some detail, in a preliminary report. Both graves were cremation burials.
Among the contents of Grave 1 were fragments of a Roman amphora and a samian ware vessel, together with fire-damaged funerary gifts made of iron and of copper alloy, grouped according to metal. The items included belt parts, a fragment of a shield grip, five arrowheads, four spurs, and a bridle. When deposited, the latter was probably still fitted to the horse’s skull that was also found in the grave.
The grave goods from Grave 2 were deposited on two levels, separated from each other by a layer of sterile sand some 20 cm thick. The upper deposit contained a cut-glass beaker with oval facets that had been disturbed by ploughing, a bowl-shaped pottery vessel, a spur, and two pairs of iron scissors. The lower deposit contained a Westland cauldron made of copper alloy, whose handle attachments were decorated with Suebian busts and whose contents included the cremated remains of an individual aged between 25 and 35, and a bronze buckle. Next to it were a bucket with handle attachments in the form of faces, two glass bowls, one stacked inside the other, another cut-glass beaker with oval facets, a Roman bronze bell, fittings from two drinking horns, and an iron knife.
The most spectacular find from these two rich graves was without doubt the copperalloy cauldron with Germanic busts. This is now the  third vessel of this type to have been discovered; the other two were found at Mušov in Moravia and in Grave R 430 at Czarnówko in Eastern Pomerania. Equally interesting were the metal elements of a drinking horn decorated with multi-coloured enamel. The chain of  the drinking horn is a genuinely exceptional item in the context of central- and northern European finds, with links to finds in adjacent areas of Eastern Europe.
Assigning a precise date to Grave 1, and thus determining whether this was an Early or Late Roman Imperial assemblage, is  problematic. Several items from the inventory belong to a group of finds which were in use in both the later part of phase B2 and in phase B2/C1 or C1a. Only a single strap end suggests that the feature dates from the early stage of the Late Roman Imperial period.
The combination of imported vessels in Grave 2 supports a date in the late 2^nd century for this feature. Two spurs of type E6, a form typical of the early stage of the Late Roman Imperial period, also place the burial in this period.
The finds from Kariv offer a great deal of material for discussion; on one hand with regard to the trans-regional contact networks of the barbarian elites in the 2^nd century AD, and on the other, with regard to the connections of these elites with the Roman world and their involvement, in particular, in the events known as the Marcomannic Wars (AD 166/168–180). Whereas previously known finds had  focused attention mainly on the northern part of the Central Danube region and on areas along the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, the Suebian cauldron from Kariv now extends this focus eastwards to include areas which have hitherto received little attention in this  context: the eastern periphery of Suebia and the areas of eastern Europe beyond, and the territory occupied by the Western Balts. From the point of view of Roman Imperial archaeology, Graves 1 and 2 from Kariv are amongst the most important and interesting discoveries of recent times. A series of questions arises merely from the situation of the find site, in an area on the periphery of the 2^nd-century Empire that was obviously subject to a settlement dynamic which has not yet been sufficiently studied, and was not one of the known settlement centres.